Who better to ask about searching the night sky for new objects than one of the most successful comet hunters in history?  David Levy has discovered 22 comets and currently runs an automated CCD search program from his observatory in southern Arizona.  David uses a variety of telescopes and cameras, including a 14" HyperStar-equipped SCT and a 12" Schmidt camera that has been modified for use with a CCD instead of film.  With professional astronomers now doing large-scale surveys to hunt for near-earth asteroids, it is becoming increasingly difficult for amateurs to make discoveries.  David is still passionate about comet hunting, though, so he's not planning on giving up any time soon.  We asked him a few questions about amateur comet hunting.

When did you begin comet hunting?

December 17th, 1965.  I was inspired by Ikeya and Seki [Japanese astronomers who had discovered the Great Comet of 1965 just a few months earlier] and later by Leslie Peltier's Starlight Nights.

Your most famous find was Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9, which impacted Jupiter in 1994.  It was discovered photographically.  When did you begin using photography to hunt for comets?

December, 1988.

So after 23 years of visual hunting you made the first big technological jump.  You now use CCDs instead of film.

Yes, since 2003.

Your most recent comet find was made despite professional sky surveys making many of the newest comet discoveries.  Do you think amateur astronomers still have a good chance of making discoveries?

No, I don't.  This little fellow just crept between the cracks and probably brightened a lot just before I found it.

Briefly describe how your automated search works.

It's hard to describe briefly.  The telescope takes a series of pictures, then repeats the series four times during the night.  Later I scan the images to look for potential discoveries.

Does software compare the images and alert you to potential comet candidates?

The process can be automated, but I do most of the scanning manually.

Along those lines, it seems like technology can sometimes come between the observer and the experience.  You obviously have a passion for doing some observations the "old fashioned" way.  Do you still hunt for comets visually?

Yes!  I did this morning in fact.

David Levy is also the author of more than two dozen astronomy books, including David Levy's Guide to Observing and Discovering Comets.  He also hosts Starizona's online radio program Let's Talk Stars.

CCD Imaging Projects